Ray Comiskeyfinds the new collecion by Vassilis Tsabropoulos, Anja Lechner and UT Gandhi is the stand-out release of the three reviewed this week.
KARIN KROG
Oslo Calling
Meantime
***
Over many years together, Krog, Vigleik Storaas (piano), Bjørn Alterhug (bass) and Tom Olstad (drums) have forged an utterly professional group - tight, simpatico, admirable and, judging by this debut album, perhaps by now lacking an element of surprise.
That may be why guests were added to leaven some performances: Frode Nymo, alto on Señor Blues; Roy Nikolaisen, flugelhorn on My Romance; John Surman, soprano on Tracesand The Sun & the Water(which also has a vocal trio) and tenor on the second half of My Little Suede Shoes/Down St Thomas Way; and Jan-Erik Kongshaug, guitar on Who Knows?Krog's intimate, conversational singing is as distinctive as ever, but the overall feel of the album, despite its manifest virtues, is rather considered. It's Surman, great player that he is, who delivers the truly arresting moments here, especially on soprano.
www.musicconnection.org.uk
RAY COMISKEY
VASSILIS TSABROPOULOS/ ANJA LECHNER/UT GANDHI
Melos
ECM
****
In their lovely 2004 ECM album, Chants, Hymns and Dances, Tsabropoulos (piano) and Lechner (cello) explored the music of the Greek-Armenian sage GI Gurdjieff and, in the pianist's own works, elements of Byzantine hymns.
On their latest release Tsabropoulos is the main composer, with 12 strongly individual pieces to Gurdjieff's three; percussion (by UT Gandhi) is added on some and improvisation is given more scope.
Lechner, a sublimely beautiful cellist, by now shares with the pianist a rapport that transcends intimacy; both inhabit the music to become conduits for it.
The results, bridging classical and Eastern sources, are not only exquisite but also multilayered; pieces such as Song of Prosperity I and II, Gift of Dreams, In Memory, Promenade, Song of Gratitudeand Reflections and Shadowspermit an interpretive range much wider than their deceptive simplicity would suggest.
www.musicconnection.org.uk
RAY COMISKEY
CEDAR WALTON
Seasoned Wood
HighNote
***
Walton's name is a virtual guarantee of quality, and this well-ordered set is typical of the veteran pianist, who wrote four of the pieces here as well as the arrangements, which use Vincent Herring (tenor/alto) and Jeremy Pelt (trumpet/flugelhorn) so effectively on half the session.
It's a tight, cohesive band, spurred by a rhythm section completed by Peter Washington (bass) and Al Foster (drums), which also allows Walton to stretch out well on trio performances of Clockwise, Hindsightand A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.
In a distinguished career Walton has never ventured far from the post-bop he knows best, but he's an accomplished player who seasons the sophistication with some salt and pepper. Here, though, most of that astringency comes from Herring, in fine form, who brings a welcome tartness to John's Blues, Plexusand a spirited The Man I Love.
www.jazzdepot.com
RAY COMISKEY
